purchased was not a laundry unit, the capacity of the washer being
one-fourth that of the ironer; they had insufficient capital, half of it
borrowed; they employed an inexperienced manager and a green bookkeeper;
and for the first eight months the supervision was almost entirely
carried on by volunteers, hard working, but without the foresight and
power of control so essential to a new organization. Under these
handicaps the cooperative laundry lost money every month.

It existed through those months due largely to two things. First, they
were forced almost immediately to employ a new manager who consistently
turned out high grade work, and secondly, a small group of volunteers
put all their energy into making the thing a success.

Then the causes of the continued failure were one by one eliminated. A
business manager who had an intense interest in cooperation was hired to
supervise general operations. He took over much of the work of the
volunteers and for the first time the laundry developed a well thought
out policy. The inexperienced bookkeeper was eliminated and all
supervision headed up in the new manager. Better service brought more
work, and new machinery made greater output possible without additional
labor. The manager found labor cost too high and introduced methods
which saved both labor and money. He found the machinery badly arranged.
When the plumber told him it would cost twenty-five dollars to rearrange
it he spent a dollar and forty cents and did it himself. After a
discussion in the Board of Directors which nearly wrecked the
organization, a Board policy of leaving all details of management to the
manager and chairman of a managing committee was determined upon, while
the Board devoted itself to the determination of general policies.

The results of these changes were soon apparent. For the first time the